1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer-plotter and a method for printing and cutting.
2. Discussion of the Background
Printer is an apparatus for printing on a surface of a sheet-like medium by, for example, ejecting ink droplets from an inkjet head while moving the inkjet head in anteroposterior and lateral directions (horizontally) relative to the sheet-like medium. Plotter is an apparatus for conducting the cutting process relative to a sheet-like medium by moving a cutting head in anteroposterior and lateral directions relative to the sheet-like medium while holding a cutter of the cutting head in contact with the sheet-like medium. For moving each of the heads of these apparatuses in the anteroposterior and lateral directions relative to the sheet-like medium, there is known an arrangement in which the head is supported by a guide rail extending in the lateral direction above the medium such that the head is movable in the lateral direction along the guide rail and the sheet-like medium is fed in the anteroposterior direction. There is also known an arrangement in which the sheet-like medium is fixed and supported on a flat plate and a guide rail which supports the head movably in the lateral direction moves in the anteroposterior direction above the sheet-like medium which is fixed as mentioned above.
There is also known an apparatus including an inkjet head and a cutting head which are supported on a guide rail so that the apparatus has functions as a printer in addition to a plotter (a plotter with print function). For example, Japanese Patent No. 3333312 and Japanese Patent No. 3645012 disclose such apparatuses. The contents of these patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. By using such a plotter with print function, the space and the cost can be reduced as compared to a case using separately a printer and a plotter.
In the plotter with print function as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3333312 or Japanese Patent No. 3645012, the cutting head is attached to a belt which is driven by driving force of an electric motor similarly to a conventional plotter so that the cutting head is moved in the lateral direction according to the movement of the belt. In addition, an inkjet head is detachably attached to the cutting head which is moved in the lateral direction according to the movement of the belt. When the inkjet head is detached from the cutting head, the inkjet head is connected to a fixing member at an end of the guide rail so that the inkjet head is held not to move. During cutting process relative to a sheet-like medium by this plotter with print function having the aforementioned structure, the inkjet head is separated from the cutting head and is fixed to the fixing member so that only the cutting head is moved in the lateral direction. During printing process relative to a sheet-like medium, the inkjet head is detached from the fixing member and is connected to the cutting head so that the inkjet head is moved together with the cutting head in the lateral direction.
According to the plotter with print function having the aforementioned structure, both two heads are connected and are thus moved together during the printing process. For the movement, large belt driving force is required and an electric motor for driving the belt is thus required to have a large capacity, thus leading to increase in size and cost of the apparatus. Further, since the inkjet head is connected directly to the cutting head during the printing, ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head for printing may adhere to the cutting head so that the cutting head may be contaminated. Particularly when a solvent ink is used for printing, coatings of electric wires and harnesses for transmitting power and control signals to electric parts in the cutting head may be dissolved due to the adhesion of the solvent ink, leading to operation error of the cutting head. It should be noted that if the coatings of the electric wires and harnesses are made of a material having ink resistance, there is a problem of high cost of production of the apparatus because such a material is expensive.